Editor's Note: Listen to the full story in our player above, and join the conversation in our comments section below.

(CNN) – With rare exception, leakers don’t come forward voluntarily.

On Sunday though, when Edward Snowden and the Guardian revealed that he was the source behind the British newspaper’s bombshell stories about U.S. data collection, both the standard operating procedure and the way the public responds to these kinds of revelations may have changed.

In the Guardian interview, Snowden insisted he was going public so that Americans could hear and judge his motives for themselves and engage in a public debate over security versus privacy.

But did his dramatic self-outing enhance the debate or eclipse it?

[1:25] “Of Course, the Buzzfeeds and the Gawkers are talking about, you know, ‘Look at the hot dancer girlfriend he had to leave behind’, but I’m mostly still seeing people focusing on the substance,” said Julian Sanchez, technology and privacy analyst at the libertarian Cato Institute.

Hear more on how Edward Snowden may have helped or hurt the great debate on security versus liberty in the player above. Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes or Stitcher. And listen to CNN Soundwaves on our SoundCloud page.

soundoff(4 Responses)

andreau webb

Freedom of speech I'm all for' but when what you tell jeopardies the safety of this country, then their is a problem. and Snowden desire for his 15 mins did that. Why tell the enemy what the game plan is? As far as the government listening to or monitoring our electronic communication that has been going on for DECADES. Just ask anyone during the Civil Rights Movement and beyond.

I think the NSA, CIA, FBI,ATF, this alphabet soup of security agencies need to closely scrutinized and the whole
national security apparatus be totally overhauled and revamped...ALL personnel involved should be THOROUGHLY
schooled in the Constitution of the United States, ESPECIALLY the 4th Amendment. This goes for our so-called
"Supreme Court" as well. ALL Military and Police Agencies in this country MUST be thoroughly trained in the Constitution in order to maintain their continued employment.